Giving anyone else this honor would be an injustice. From USA Basketball: “After helping the USA earn a 9-0 record and the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and taking home tournament MVP honors in the process, Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) today was announced as the 2010 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year. ‘It means a lot,’ Durant said. ‘My goal was to represent my country to the best of my ability. I really appreciate all of the coaches and players that I got to share that experience with. I am very humbled by this honor.’ Durant averaged a team-best and U.S. World Championship scoring record 22.8 points per game to help lead the USA to the FIBA World Championship gold medal Aug. 28 – Sept. 12 in Istanbul, Turkey. Named MVP of the tournament, he also was a member of the five-person All-World Championship Team.”

You all know we have serious love for Kevin Durant. And we definitely respect the job Coach K has done with Team USA. Not sure what to make of this recent photograph, though. Do you have any good ideas for how to caption it? If so, please let the world know.

Whoever writes the funniest caption will win a dope prize from our vault and see their name in Trash Talk next issue.

Typically, the summer sport’s world is dominated by baseball, pre-season football talk, and major tennis and golf outings, leaving hoopheads longing for something to watch. But this year (with the help of Nike and the ESPN family of networks), we were given the opportunity to see something great.

The Game in one of its purest forms. Guys playing not for the money, but for pride, driven by their passion for the game.

But as Team USA prepared for the FIBA World Championships, the hate was about as heavy as Shawn Kemp. The “B Team,” some called them. Granted, these weren’t the creamiest of the crop, but the “B Team”? Really?

Personally, watching them win left me a proud American, telling myself, “I Love This Game.” Seeing them play since early August, we were able to witness the entire ride. We got to watch them grow up and come together as a team, the final game being the fulfilling culmination of it all.

When they lost in ’02 (which was made up of “second-tier” guys just like the current team) and ’06, Americans were disgraced. Astonished. Ready to banish George Karl, Paul Pierce and the like from the country, forget the League. But the team that finally righted the ship, bringing home World Championship gold for the first time since 1994, hasn’t been met with the same enthusiasm.

Given all the hate, I think it’s time to show some love:

1. First and foremost, shout out to Kevin Durant. From day one, it was clear: He had to be the guy. Coach K had to ask him to be more selfish. With all the pressure on him, he stepped up. Big time. And when it counted most, is when he was at his best. Dropping 33, 38 and 28 in the final three games, setting all kinds of records for Americans in international play. Even when Team USA’s offense, or lack thereof, seemed to come to a standstill, Durant carried them singlehandedly, and was the lone Team USA member to average double figures, putting up just under 23 points per game.

2. Shout out to the the vets Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom, or as ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla dubbed them, the “safety blankets.” Early on, both stumbled. Billups was suspect on D, and uncharacteristically missed free throws — the most clear indication of his struggles. Odom was quiet and ineffective, too. But down the stretch of the tournament, both, especially Odom, answered the call, and showed why you’re taught to respect your elders. Odom, in particular, was absolutely huge, snagging 33 boards over the last three games, and igniting the fastbreak that was so key to the team’s success. He seemed to be in the right place at the right time, time and time again. Billups steadied up, and finished as the team’s second leading scorer. The “old-heads” got it done.

3. Shout out to the energizer bunnies, Eric Gordon and Russell Westbrook. Early on, there was speculation that one, or both, would likely end up beingcut. But in practice, scrimmages and friendlies, each earned his way on to the team and didn’t stop there. Both played their way into the rotation, and neither would have a bad game. When the starters came out flat — which happened on more than one occasion — Gordon and Westbrook were always able to provide a shock of life. Gordon solidified himself as one of the deadliest shooters in the game (if we didn’t know it already), looking so good that some thought he should even be starting. Westbrook was a highlight waiting to happen every time he touched the floor. His shooting was considered a weakness, but he knocked several nice mid-range jumpers (and even a couple threes, granted, the line is shorter), and used his explosiveness to serve as one of the team’s best zone busters. To top it off, both players locked up on D.

4. Shout out to Derrick Rose. His play tapered off a bit as the tournament went along, but that doesn’t discount the things he did earlier on; made some great plays late in games or in the shot clock, and, for a time, was the best offensive option next to KD. The confidence he was playing with was great to see (especially for Bulls fans), as he showed off his much improved jumper, and looked to have gotten even faster. If that’s possible. Even after not playing the entire fourth quarter in the semifinal game against Lithuania, he bounced back and helped seal the deal in the championship the next night.

5. Shout out to Andre Iguodala. The fact that he played as much as he did — starting every game — lets you know just how good of a defender he is. His shot looked terrible (though he shot 58 percent), but at the other end, he was all clamps. Guarding 4-men, he defended inside and out, post and perimeter. He got his hands on a countless number of balls and led the team in steals with 16 for the tournament.

6. Shout out to Kevin Love. Minute for minute, he may have been the most impressive, most productive player on Team USA. His playing time was inconsistent, but what he did when he got he in wasn’t. He dominated the boards, finished around the basket and stroked it from the outside. Until the late surge by Odom, he was the team’s best big man. All this in spite of the fact that he looked like Mike Posner (word to Lang Whitaker).

7. Last but certainly not least, shout out to Jerry Colangelo and Coach K. Colangelo has been phenomenal restoring a sense of culture and pride in Team USA, working from the ground up. Coach K proved why he’s one of the best to ever do it. While it helped to have a group of guys willing to put egos to the side, he developed the chemistry to a T and perfected the rotation by the end of the tournament. He’s on one hell of a run right now, also. Winning Gold in 2008, an ACC and National Championship with Duke, and now this. Not to mention, the Blue Devils have their best team in years and should enter — and possibly finish — the season as the best team in the country. And he’ll be with Team USA again in 2012, which he said will definitely be his last go-round. Calling him the greatest coach ever is arguable, of course, but especially given his current run, top three ever is not. If he wins another national championship or gold again in 2012, that case for best ever could be solidified.

The games were a chance to see the future of the NBA. Never before has there been a national team consisting entirely of players poised to have the best season of their life. Save Odom, Billups and Tyson Chandler, every player on that roster, from KD to KLove will enter the ‘10-11 season ready to have the finest year of their young careers. Playing with Team USA will be a major factor in their growth.

That being said, it will be very interesting two years from now when the Olympic squad is being put together. The big shots (Kobe, LeBron, etc.) will likely be back, but they will (or at least they should) have to earn it, because these young boys who played this year will be hungry, and if they’re not careful, somebody’s gonna get their spot taken.

They didn’t always look marvelous and certainly had their flaws, but Team USA 2010 went to Turkey and held it down. Shout out to them for doing so.

For Team USA, standing between them and a slot in the Final’s tomorrow night is undefeated Lithuania. To break down Lietuva, led by Linas Kleiza, they’re a balanced team on offense that has shooters at every position. If they get hot it will be tough for Coach K’s squad, who struggled against Russia’s first quarter three pointers and zone defense. The American’s defensive intensity will have to be on lock all night to disrupt LIT’s half court offense. If Team USA can make this into a full court sprint, they should be able to dispense of the Baltic nation.

ESPN Classic will air this game live at 12 PM EST. ESPN 3 will carry it online.

On Wednesday, Krzyzewski mocked a story that Blatt told about crying at the conclusion of the ’72 game as a teenager growing up in Massachusetts. Blatt recently watched a new documentary on the final minutes of the game and changed his opinion on how the events played out.

“He’s Russian,” Krzyzewski told reporters. “He coaches the Russian team. So he probably has that viewpoint. His eyes are clearer now because there are no tears in them.”

“I’m not Russian,” Blatt countered to Yahoo! Sports. “I’m an American-Israeli. But I’m proud that I can view things objectively and form my own opinion with the hope that it doesn’t insult anybody. If anything, it only asks people to be a little more open-minded and fair about things.

“I thought we were past this,” Blatt said. “Shouldn’t Mike be proud that an American coach has made his way to Europe and become coach of the Russian national team? If people are still getting emotional about that thing 40 years later or trying to use it in a way to further their own cause, so be it.”

Five straight games in group play, followed by three straight off days. Team USA didn’t exactly breeze through Group B, but they got the job done. Now that it’s literally win or go home, Coach K’s squad will need to pull off four consecutive victories to win gold, beginning tonight against Angola. Considering the Game 7 mentality each player must bring to the court, it’ll be interesting to see how the inexperienced will manage it.

Besides Lamar Odom and Chauncey Billups, nobody else has dug themselves in for a long NBA playoff run. Sure, there have been lengthy NCAA tournaments for some (Westbrook/UCLA, Rose/Memphis, Love/UCLA), but for the rest it’s uncharted waters.

The elimination rounds have begun in the FIBA World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey and the competition is really starting to heat up. What makes this competition so great is that in a first round game like Greece vs. Spain that took place today, either one of those teams is capable of making a run in this tournament but one of them had to pack its things and go home. Below is a recap of the day’s events in Turkey.

Serbia and Croatia faced off in the first game of the elimination round and what a game it was. In a very competitive match-up each team saw great contributions from its starters and bench players alike. Serbian Nenad Kristic (16 points, 3 rebounds) got off to a quick start in the lane with dunks and spin moves for easy points while his teammate Nemanja Bjelica (3 points) got it going from outside with a three (he was quiet the rest of the game). For the Croatians the young prospect Bojan Bogdanovic (9 points, 3 boards) got going with a three early and a few nice takes to the rim. Ante Tomic (6 points, 8 boards, 5 turnovers) had a tough time scoring the ball against Kristic inside but Croatia held a steady lead of 6-8 points for most of the first half thanks to their forceful rebounding on the offensive end (13-7 edge in this department for the game) by Marko Thomas (6 points, 6 boards) and the entire team’s ability to convert after rebounding. For Serbia, Kosta Perovic (10 points, 3 boards) was huge off the bench in the pick-and-roll which led to easy opportunities for Serbia in the lane, helping to keep them in the game. They went into the locker room with a 36-34 lead, which they couldn’t have been happy with considering how well they had played.

In the second half Serbia took the lead early on a three-pointer by Aleksander Rasic (15 points, 3 assists, 2 steals). Kristic battled inside on offense in the third which led to Croatia’s prized big Ante Tomic picking up 2 quick fouls early in the second half (3 overall) forcing him to sit down. The Serbs crashed the boards harder and took advantage of Tomic being out of the game but Kresimir Loncar (9 points, 2 boards) did his best to keep the Croatians in the game the whole third quarter by battling inside, hustling on both ends and knocking down a midrange shot or two. Tomic came back in for the final few minutes of the third but Serbia’s Milos Teodosic (3 points, 4 steals, 4 turnovers) hit a three and Milan Macvan (8 points) scored a bucket inside in transition to extend their lead to 4 going into the 4th.

It was neck and neck the first four minutes of the fourth quarter until the Serbs got it going offensively with an and one to extend the lead to 7 points with 6 minutes to play but the sharpshooting sparkplug Marko Popovic (21 points, 5 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals) answered with a 3 to keep his team in the contest at the other end. A moment later Milan Macvan hit a three to extend the lead back to 7 (after Croatia missed several easy opportunities inside) but Popovic kept his team in the game with yet another three after a 2-minute scoring drought to bring the Croatians within 4 again at 64-60. The Serbians missed some free throw opportunities which helped to keep Croatia in the game and after a beautiful drive-and-dish by point guard Roko Ukic (11 points, 4 assists, 4 boards) to Marko Banic brought Croatia within two. Kristic hit 1-2 free throws on other end to extend lead to three but the relentless Popovic drove, got fouled and hit both shots at line to make it 68-67 Serbia with 21 seconds left. Rasic hit 2 FTs to extend the lead to 70-67. Popovic created yet another foul and hit another two FTs. Croatia pressured Serbia and Marko Tomas came up with a steal, passed to Popovic who got fouled again. Missed the first, made the second to tie the game.

Out of a timeout Serbia ran a perfect inbounds play from midcourt that started in a diamond. After a simple screen at midcourt one player was wide open and streaking to the hoop for an all too easy layup for the two point advantage. The Croatians were undone with this play but inexplicably fouled on their possession at midcourt with 5.9 seconds left. Popovic knocked down his FTs again (8-10 at the line) but on the ensuing possession Croatia was whistled for a very questionable foul with 1 second remaining on a drive to the basket by Aleksander Rasic, who went to the line, knocked down the first calmly and missed the second on purpose to all but secure the win in a very dramatic knockout round affair.

After straining his right groin in Team USA’s win over Tunisia this week, Rudy Gay went through an entire practice on Saturday, though his strained groin still felt ‘tight.’ Gay will probably be cleared for Monday’s quarterfinal against Angola. From John Schuhmann: “Leaving USA practice. Rudy Gay (groin) felt tight today, but played through it for the entire 2-hour session.”

The FIBA World Championships are for the big boys, not the kiddies. While there are a handful of young players dotting the rosters of the 24 teams that competed in the tournament, for the most part countries rely on their older, more experienced players when they are battling on such a big stage. But, as mentioned, a few young bucks did make the cut for their respective nations this year and got to join in on the festivities in Turkey. Here are the top NBA Draft prospects that made the grade in Turkey.

Robert Sacre — Canada

The world championships were an utter disaster for Canada, as they failed to win even one game (no, they couldn’t even beat Lebanon). Things weren’t much better personally for Robert Sacre either, as the highly touted center barely got off the bench, only averaging 8 minutes a game. But he did produce when he was given an opportunity for a little extra burn, notching 8 points and 3 boards in 14 minutes versus Spain. In the fall, Sacre will be back on Gonzaga’s campus for his junior season with the ‘Zags. His size (7-0), physicality, defensive ability and decent athleticism should allow him to sneak into the second round of the NBA Draft whenever he decides to declare for it.

Bojan Bogdanovic — Croatia

Croatia had a much better opening round than Canada, going 2-3 and making it through to the round of 16, where they’ll meet Serbia on Saturday. Young small forward Bojan Bogdanovic was a big reason for the team’s success, as he went off for double-digit scoring totals in four out of their five games so far (including 17 points and 5 threes versus the US). The 6-8, 21-year-old, who plays pro ball for Cibona Zagreb in his native Croatia, is a three-point marksmen, hitting his long-range shots at a 50 percent clip (13-26) thus far in Turkey. Known for his strong all-around game, Bogdanovic should be a mid-second round pick next June.

Elias Harris & Robin Benzing — Germany

The Dirk Nowitzki-less German squad underachieved in the first round and didn’t advance to the round of 16, which is too bad because they have a couple of good draft prospects in Elias Harris and Robin Benzing. Harris will be familiar to most readers due to the solid freshman season he had for Gonzaga last year. The long-limbed, athletic small forward didn’t do much in Turkey, only putting up 3.4 ppg and 2.0 rpg despite playing about 17 minutes a game. But another strong season with Gonzaga could put him into the lottery next June. Teammate Benzing wasn’t much more effective himself, averaging 4.6 ppg in 18 minutes of action per game. The 6-10 small forward, who plays pro for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany, runs the floor well and is a three-point bomber, taking more threes than twos. He should be a second round pick in 2011.

Arsalan Kazemi — Iran

Could the unthinkable happen — Could we really see two Iranian basketball players in the NBA at the same time? It is appearing to be very possible, as Arsalan Kazemi is on NBA scouts’ radar. A 6-7 combo forward with long arms, Kazemi had a great showing in Turkey, averaging 12.0 ppg and 7.4 rpg. The Rice sophomore still has plenty of work to do before he starts appearing on any mock drafts, but he is an athletic, high energy player that could turn out to be a solid NBA role player before all is said and done.

Five wins. Zero losses. No complaints about Team USA’s performance from SLAM.

Team USA capped its Group B play with an easy 92-57 win over Tunisia today. The bench clocked most of the minutes and still made its opponent look like a practice squad. Eric Gordon (21 points) and Russell Westbrook (14 points) led the charge. For the complete box score, head over to ESPN.

Eric Gordon scored 21 points and the United States pulled away after a sluggish first half to beat Tunisia 92-57 on Thursday in its final game of pool play at the world championship.

With nothing to play for, the Americans sleepwalked through most of the early start, leading the winless team by only four points early in the third quarter before turning it into a rout over the final 15 minutes.

The top seed from Group B, the United States (5-0) was awaiting the loser of the Australia-Angola matchup, which would be its opponent Monday as the No. 4 seed from Group A.

Call it a scare or a wake-up call or a warning. Call it whatever you want. There’s no debating what happened last night against Brazil exposed the Americans. There certainly is a way to defeat them and if Barbosa’s desperation layup spins in, we’d all be ready to break the “In Case of Emergency” glass. Thing is, what exactly is Coach K’s backup plan for nights like yesterday?

He played Durant all of 36 seconds and persisted with the over-matched Russell Westbrook guarding Barbosa at the end of the first quarter, who was running rampant for 8 points. Brazil held Team USA to 42 percent shooting (on a measly 8 assists), while forcing 22 turnovers. What the South Americans did effectively was pound the ball inside to Tiago Splitter (13 and 10), setting up kick outs or driving lanes, taken advantage of by Marcus Vieira (16 points on 2 threes).

Three games in, it seems Stephen Curry and Danny Granger have become the 11th and 12th man, while the hero against Slovenia, Kevin Love, barely featured yesterday. Eric Gordon and Rudy Gay didn’t see much action either. With such a young squad, Coach K will eventually have to throw the inexperienced into the fire, depending on them when the starters need a breather or aren’t getting it done.

With a minute remaining in the game and the score virtually locked, it was interesting to see who on Team USA would take control. Unsurprisingly, it was Mr. Big Shot, Chauncey Billups, with the ball in his hands.

The Americans now sit atop Group B with two games remaining, including tonight’s affair against Iran. A win and they advance to the knockout rounds, where they can’t afford these mental lapses against the likes of Argentina, Lithuania and the dominating host country, Turkey.

ESPN will air the game live at 12:00 PM EST. Check ESPN 3 for online coverage as well.

Pregame

-On the one day it rains, of course the wireless becomes spotty. Stay with me, I’ll try and update as much as possible. Things are running really slow right now.

-Two guys holding an American flag and an Iranian flag with a white flag between them. Right spirit. This is basketball, not politics.

First Quarter

-The most significant threat the Americans face today is 7’2″ Hamed Hadadi. Tall and lengthy. Immediately Durant goes at him and draws the foul.

-#12 on Iran, Arsalan Kazemi, is their up-and-comer. He’ll be a junior at Rice University this fall and averaged a double-double for them last year.

-Media members were debating what the over/under was on how many points USA outscores Iran. It’s 6-5 with 6:03 left in the first. USA very sloppy on a couple of possessions.

-USA is attacking Hadadi every chance it gets. Basically, if you get him into foul trouble, Iran loses the marginal hope it had to win this game.

-Early looks for Eric Gordon, Tyson Chandler and Rudy Gay.

-There you go, Chandler bodies Hadadi up and draws his second foul. Coach Matic decides to leave him in. What other choice does he have? Remember, it’s 5 fouls and you’re done in FIBA.

-Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Gay, Gordon and Chandler. They’ll see a lot of minutes tonight with the group virtually locked up.

-Quarter ends 19-13 USA. Don’t expect it to stay this close for much longer.

Second Quarter

-Stephen Curry and Eric Gordon two-man game ends in a made three. File that under “obviously.”

-USA had 7 turnovers in the first, continuing their sloppy play throughout this Group.

-I said it the other day, Kevin Love can score on any player bigger than him. Two possessions he’s gone at Hadadi and come up the victor. He uses his body so well to gain leverage.

-USA up 30-19 with 5:16 remaining.

-With that three, make it 9 straight points for Love.

-USA up 39-24, shooting 52 percent but still not as sharp as they’d like. 10 turnovers and 14 Iranian free throws isn’t going to please anybody.

-Granger gets beat badly by Kazemi, forcing Coach K to call a timeout. Maybe there’s a reason Granger hasn’t seen much burn. He looks out of sync out there.

-USA leads 42-28 at the half.

Third Quarter

-Four forced turnovers to start the quarter for USA. Defensive intensity turned way up right now. Bodies everywhere and deflections on everything.

-Rose with three layups this quarter. His first step is lethal. If he’s by you, it’s over.

-USA up 20 with about 5 remaining. Wonder how much longer Coach K leaves the starters in..

-And there go the starters, save for Rose who buries a jumper, at the 2:41 mark.

-Westbrook has no fear against any defender. He’s been jumping into Hadadi all game going to the rim. He’s got a strong frame to handle all the punishment though.

-USA up big, 62-39 at the end of three. This one’s about wrapped up.

Fourth Quarter

-You know when Tyson Chandler is taking mid-range jumpers, you’re either up or down by a whole lot.

-Hadadi with the dunk and foul, as Gay fails to wrap him up. Hamed then screams right in his face. If Gay finds a lane, be sure he’s going for the poster finish.

-Iran has put up about 4 air balls this quarter. Hadadi back in. After every bucket he makes, he stares at his opponent. He never just turns around and heads back to play defense. He has to stare before he leaves.

-Love to Westbrook for the reverse jam. Even the PA announcer let out a “wooo” before he said Westbrook’s name.

-That’s your ball game. 88-51 USA. They officially advance to the knockout stages. Have one more group game tomorrow against Tunisia. Should be another blowout. See you then!

Predictably, USA and Brazil have steamrolled through Group B in their first two games. USA defeated Croatia and Slovenia by similar margins, 106-78 and 99-77, while Brazil came one point close of identical victories over Iran and Tunisia, 81-65 and 80-65.

Tonight’s match-up should significantly test the American’s lack of size, which hasn’t been a problem thus far, as they’ve out-rebounded the competition 89-74. Kevin Love is cleaning up, coming off the bench to snag 21 boards in just 26 minutes of action. His double-double yesterday is exactly why Coach K brought him along, to be a bulldog in the paint. Along with Lamar Odom, they’ll have to deal with the height and physicality of Andy Varejao, who’s been out with a sprained right ankle, and Tiago Splitter.

The winner of this game will sit alone at the top of Group B, with Team USA and Brazil inevitably advancing in first and second place. This is significant because Group B faces Group A in the knockout rounds, where powerhouses Argentina and Serbia (likely finishing their group first and second) await the third and fourth place finishers of Group B.

ESPN will be airing the game at 2:30 PM EST. ESPN 3 should have it online.

So that was easy. Yesterday’s demolishing of Croatia (106-78) sent a loud message throughout the basketball universe (particularly contrasting against Spain’s unexpected loss) that Team USA should not be underestimated. Despite all the chatter about being too small, too young and too inexperienced, the American’s put on a well-rounded offensive display. Overall they shot 55.4 percent from the field, while going 12-30 beyond the arc. After a tight first quarter, where the Croatian’s pounded the ball inside for close buckets, Kevin Durant lead the charge in the second quarter where USA outscored Croatia 26-6.

“I think we did a great job of talking in the second quarter,” Durant says. “Guys put pressure on the defense. It was a great team win. If you look at the scoreboard, everybody had a bucket, everybody contributed. It was a good win for us.”

Four of those 12 three’s were courtesy of Eric Gordon, who many thought would be cut at the start of training camp. The Clipper led the team with 16 points in 22 minutes.

When asked if he’s ever been cut from a team in his life, he casually responds, “No.” It also helps he plays with guys who can penetrate in the lane, leaving him open for the three. “This game is easier when you spot up and shoot to make shots,” Gordon says.

This afternoon the Americans match up against Slovenia. The crowd will be heavily European, whose fans came out in full force yesterday for their victory over Tunisia. Expect a sea of green.

For our American readers, the game is on ESPN 2 at 9:30 AM EST.

Pregame

-I decided to do a regular live blog today, seeing as how it’s a 9:30 am start on the east coast. For the few of you awake and ready, feel free to comment below. I’ll be looking out for them.

-Has Nelly’s Heart of a Champion become as ubiquitous at basketball games as Queen’s We Will Rock You at football games?

-So…much…green in the stands. Slovenia fans doing it big.

-I said it yesterday on Twitter, but Miha Zupan of Slovenia is Brian Scalabrine’s doppelganger. And he’s deaf. Just incredible. It looks like he has white hearing aids in his ears.

-…12. Despite all this carelessness, Team USA up 9. Slovenia can’t counter on the sloppy play. 25-16 USA with 6:21 remaining in the second.

-On all possessions Odom keeps encouraging the team to play on. He’s getting on Gordon to hustle back and stop worrying about the refs. And he’s grabbing defensive boards. True veteran right there.

-Kevin Love enters the game at the five, and immediately Team USA falls asleep on defense. Dragic to Brezec for the dunk. 27-21 USA. It’s getting loud again…

-PA announcer calls him Russell Westbruuuuuuk.

-It’s 38-25 USA after another Kevin Love and-1. I mean, if you’re going to foul him at least wrap him up Slokar.

-42-28 USA at the half. Very physical play, lots of fouls (25), many USA turnovers (12) and 8-32 shooting for Slovenia. Durant with 15 and Love with 6 and 5.

Third Quarter

-Same starting five for both, except Jagodnik replaces Slokar.

-It’s back and forth right now. Dragic finally bags his first field goal.

-Sorry for the lack of updates that quarter, our man Tzvi had to jump in and fix some technicalities. As for the play, USA bagged some triples, forced turnovers and pushed the lead past 20. Slovenia tried to right itself in the end with some easy interior work by Vidmar. It’s 67-46 USA heading to the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

-Rose with some more dribble penetration. One for the dish to Odom, the other for his on bucket.

-Odom fouls out of the game picking up his fifth.

-Vidmar is a funny guy. It looks like he pretended to hurt his hand on the offensive board, so he walked away only to jump back in when an easy put back presented itself. Now he’s at the line..

-As much as Slovenia tries to crawl back in this, the USA always has an answer. It’s 81-59 with 5:30 remaining. This one’s in the books.

-Westbruuuk just rejected Rizvic and stared him down. Lucky for him this isn’t the NBA. He’d be T’d up so quickly.

-Down 25, these Slovenian fans are still as frequent with their chants as they were from the beginning. Gotta love fans like these.

-I’m not calling him Ray Allen, but after hitting four three’s yesterday, Eric Gordon is still sitting on zero (0-7).

-Right on cue, Gordon! He nails his first three.

-A second victory for Team USA in group play. This one ends 99-77 with Curry and Dragic sharing a laugh at mid-court. I’ll be back with quotes…

Postgame

It was Kevin Durant who led the American’s early first quarter push to make the Slovenian crowd a non-factor throughout this game. He finished with 22 points on 8-13 shooting, another productive, efficient night for the team’s star. The x-factor this game was the rebounding advantage Team USA had, grabbing 50 boards (14 offensive) to Slovenia’s 33. Kevin Love contributed a workman’s double double in just 13 minutes, spelling Odom during his foul issues (he fouled out).

“It was cool,” Durant says about playing against a hostile opposition crowd. “We did a better job early on in the game of keeping them quiet and making three’s. We know we can’t go out here and blow every team out. We had to make this a grind game and did a good job of keeping our composure.”

So far Coach K’s squad hasn’t faced much opposition, but tomorrow night’s match-up against Brazil will be a stiff test against veteran NBA players like Barbosa, Varejao and the soon-to-be Spur, big man Tiago Splitter. I’ll be running Cover It Live for that game tomorrow (2:30 PM EST), see you then.

Team USA continued its march to Istanbul with its third day of training in New York City late yesterday evening, albeit in a very particular way. Nike’s World Basketball Festival kicked-off its four-day event with a special Team USA showcase at Radio City Music Hall. Yes, there was a regulation sized FIBA court built on the stage.

“Literally, we played on the big stage tonight,” Lamar Odom says. “I think it was different. The ambiance, the background — as far as shooting the ball — but it was fun.”

It should have been fun for the Lakers forward (13 points, 2 threes in 18 minutes), who, along with Andre Iguodala (leading scorer with 15 points and 6 rebounds), shined the brightest when the lights came on. In two, 12-minute periods Team USA held an intra-squad scrimmage that was tied at the end of regulation sending it to an unprecedented, first-team-to-score-wins overtime. The Blue Team walked away victorious courtesy of a Rajon Rondo alley-oop to Tyson Chandler.

It was an ugly game, marred by too many attempted three-pointers (combined 7-36), missed jumpers (combined 39-92) and sloppy ball handling (27 turnovers in 24 minutes). Then again, it was just a practice, played under very unusual conditions. There was an open audience to the left of the court, while a curtain and enormous jumbo-tron stared at them from the right. Over the past two scrimmages against the USA Select Team at John Jay Criminal Justice, Coach K and his staff had focused on pressuring the opponent high up the court, working in some zone, which they utilized for all of two minutes yesterday, and building chemistry on the court.

For the most part, the battles for the 12 roster spots are near an end. As last night showed, Billups, who logged the most minutes of any guard, will most likely be the veteran point starting along side either Derrick Rose or Rajon Rondo. With the way Stephen Curry has been shooting the ball (4-10 from three last night; three coming in the second period) all week, he could be the first guard off the bench. Perhaps this edges out Eric Gordon of a roster spot, who has been productive during practice, although not quite at Curry’s level.

Odom showed last night his value to this team, doing a bunch of little things to be productive. Knocking down threes, driving to the hoop, and being a lengthy body on defense. The swingman positions seemed to be locked down by Iguodala, who was very impressive and has been all week, along with Durant, Gay and Granger, who returned to practice after sitting out Day 2 with a dislocated finger. This perhaps pushes Jeff Green out of the picture.

The center position is the most intriguing — and confusing — spot to predict. Tyson Chandler will surely have the five spot wrapped up, although in 21 minutes out of a total 24 yesterday, he grabbed just two total rebounds while the opposing team shot 19-46. JaVale McGee continues to show his inexperience, losing his footing on one play and unnecessarily throwing the ball at the rim. The thing about McGee, though, is do you bring him to Turkey just for insurance? He’s the only other legitimate center besides Chandler, but his skill level and mindset don’t seem to be what Team USA is expecting at this level. Then again, if Chandler goes down in an early game, who does Coach K use? Odom? Love? They’ll have to go even smaller than they expected, something that will surely hurt them on the glass. Jerry Colangelo said yesterday they could potentially bring all 15 to Turkey, before they submit their final roster, and make their decision then.

It’s difficult to judge everybody when they’re only playing against themselves, so their exhibition on Sunday against Team France should be a really telling analysis of where they stand. See you then.

I’ll keep this short and sweet, as Team USA had already begun their scrimmage against the USA Select Team when the media entered the gym at the John Jay Criminal Justice gym.

-There was an emphasis on using the full-court press. With the plethora of quick, agile guards, Team USA should be able to disrupt and keep the pressure on the opposing guards looking to push the ball up the court. Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose and Eric Gordon were prime examples of causing mayhem and forcing the Select Team to launch the ball down court where the likes of the lengthy Lamar Odom and Kevin Durant were waiting to intercept.

-This team will shoot the three ball. A lot. It’s scary to think a strategy of theirs might be to live and die behind the arc, but for most of the scrimmage yesterday, with the exception of some well-controlled drives to the bucket by Rose and Westbrook, Team USA was launching from down town. Durant, Stephen Curry, Rudy Gay and even Kevin Love, were putting them up, and hitting them for the most part. The shorter perimeter arc of the international game certainly helps things (FIBA: 20′ 6.1″ – NBA: 23′ 9″), although this shouldn’t be taken for granted. One cold streak against the up-tempo squads of Puerto Rico, Brazil or Spain could spell doom on the other end of the court. Long rebound, outlet and an easy layup – situations like these Team USA has to remember to hustle back on to defend.

-The scrimmages on Day 1 were four, 6-minute quarters. On Day 2, when the media entered the gym, they were finishing up their last two 10-minute quarters. A FIBA game is four, 10-minute periods, as opposed to the NBA’s four, 12-minute periods.

-Rajon Rondo missed practice due to a death in the family, and Danny Granger was out after injuring his ring finger during yesterday’s practice.

-Curry had a strong scrimmage. The 6-3 Warriors guard knocked down the open shots, pressured high up the court on defense and was aggressive on the offensive end, setting up plays for others:

“The lanes bigger, there’s a lot more space on the floor. Guys can sit in the lane, there’s no defensive three seconds. Big guys are always going to be down there if you go to the middle, which helps me, maybe I can shoot the three’s all day,” (facetiously).

On another note for Warriors fans, I asked him if he’s spoken with David Lee at all:

“Oh yeah, we’re pretty good friends right away. I think I’m gonna hang out with him this week. I think any time you add an All-Star with the talents he has to be able to pass, shoot, play the pick-and-roll game, rebound, defend – all those things we need at that position he’ll be able to come in and help right away.”

-The only other pure shooter on this squad, aside from Curry, is Eric Gordon. Here’s his take on his role on the team:

“I’d say mostly shooting and making three point shots, and playing really good defense and making steals. We (him and Stephen Curry) just got to do our job and makes baskets.”

-Jerry Colangelo on Team USA playing zone:

“It’s not gonna be a constant. It’s gonna be an in-and-out kind of a thing. More than anything else to get the offense off kilter. That’s how it should be used. That’s how the Europeans use it now.”

Day 3 should be a treat, as tonight kicks off the World Basketball Festival with a Team USA showcase at Radio City Music Hall. I hear Jay-Z is going to perform afterward…of course, I’ll have a post with all the details.

This is when it started. I just returned to college to finish up my final semester of senior year. Snowmaggedon was blasting through the northeast, leaving my housemates and I restricted to our off-campus house and devastatingly vulnerable to boredom.

To help pass the time, doing myself a favor and passing on the alcohol, I started researching countries to backpack through as an all too typical post-grad adventure. I’m not one for just sightseeing and partying, as ridiculously blackout as that may sound. If there was a way for me to get some work in, I was all for it.

As snow continued to pound the tri-state, my travel bug bit harder and harder at my complacency. There’s only so much shoveling, snow activities and coffee one person can handle during a blizzard. For an entire day, I nearly blinded myself searching through countless travel websites, until I finally stumbled upon this:

Perfect. So on that Tuesday afternoon, I emailed Ben the E-I-C asking about SLAM’s plan to cover the event and how I could get involved.

Six months later, and I have a media credential for the WBC, a plane ticket to Turkey and a hotel reservation in Istanbul.

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Six months later, the World Hoops 2010 issue is here with Kevin Durant gracing the cover (on newsstands this coming week in New York City). Throughout the season and Playoffs, the gold medal winning “Redeem Team” had wavered about reppin’ USA for the World’s. One man who didn’t was the increasingly popular Durant. The Thunder superstar, who was cut from that ’08 team as a 19-year-old rookie, had as great a shot as anyone to make Jerry Colangelo’s and Coach K’s squad. He was coming off a fantastic season, averaging 30.1 ppg while pushing the Lakers to a six-game first round series.

With a little help from Nike and their World Basketball Festival announcement in mid-June, Durant was a lock for the team (according to Colangelo that afternoon) and consequently our cover. As I said then, “we ducked in to a photo shoot where our man Atiba was ready to photo Durant and Yi.”

What you see is the result of that shoot. A respectful, confident young man who is growing into the face of Team USA and its number one option on offense. I’ll admit, we got a little fortunate when the free agency fiasco roared its ugly head and the complete contrast was KD simply relaying on Twitter he had signed an extension with OKC. Simple and to the point. Everything the free agency circus wasn’t.

Besides the Durant cover story, which Norman MacLean, I mean Lang, obviously kills, I try my hand at my first multiple-page feature about Yi Jianlian and his varying degrees of success with Team China and the NBA. I also penned the four group, 24 team preview for the World’s. It includes some history, what to expect and who to look for in Turkey. There are also stories on Carlos Arroyo, Team USA history (an Old School by Michael Bradley at that), and in-depth coverage of the upcoming World Basketball Festival in New York City about two weeks from now. And of course, there are spreads of the new Nike Hyper Elite Uniforms; fresh Nike, Converse and Jordan kicks for 2010; and a lot more apparel reflective of the impending World’s. Everything you will need to know in preparation for the World Basketball Festival and World Basketball Championship is in the pages of this issue. Enjoy.

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As for me, I’ll be situated in Istanbul primarily covering Team USA in Group B at the Abdi Ipekci Spor Salonu arena (there are four different cities/venues for the group stages) and then when the knock-out rounds begin and the entire Championship shifts to Istanbul at the Sinan Erdem Dom. And of course, I’ll have a duffel bag full of this issue, reppin’ SLAM the best way I can.